Texas Southern rallies for upset in opener at Baylor

PHOTOS: Texas universities ranked by 2019 report of best schools in the nation

In this March 14, 2018 file photo, Trayvon Reed #5 of the Texas Southern Tigers blocks a shot by Brandon Goldsmith #3 of the North Carolina Central Eagles during the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. On Tuesday, Reed was one of four Tigers to score in double figures (15 points) in an upset of Baylor. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

>>>Wallet Hub's 2019 report of best colleges and universities puts some Houston-area schools at the top of the list ...

PHOTOS: Texas universities ranked by 2019 report of best schools in the nation

In this March 14, 2018 file photo, Trayvon Reed #5 of the Texas Southern Tigers blocks a shot by Brandon Goldsmith #3 of the North Carolina Central Eagles during the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. On Tuesday, Reed was one of four Tigers to score in double figures (15 points) in an upset of Baylor. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

>>>Wallet Hub's 2019 report of best colleges and universities puts some Houston-area schools at the top of the list ...

Texas Southern coach Johnny Jones wasn't willing to commit to a preseason prediction for the Tigers in his first year as the school's head coach.

"We have a very tough and challenging schedule to open up the season and I'm not sure how those games will turn out," he said in October. "My mission and goal is when we tip it off these guys are excelling and playing as hard as they can until that final buzzer."

When the final buzzer sounded in Waco on Tuesday night, it was Jones' Tigers who emerged on top 72-69 in their season-opening tangle with Baylor.

Guard Jaylyn Patterson, a transfer who'd played for Jones at LSU, paced the Tigers with 23 points. His trey from deep leveled the game at 67 with 58 seconds left. He sank another 34 seconds later which secured the upset.

"We just kept fighting," Patterson told the Associated Press. "We came to win, play hard. Just played the whole 40 minutes."

Texas Southern habitually played non-conference games on the road against some of the nation's toughest teams under previous coach Mike Davis. They fell 99-68 at Baylor last December en route to a winless non-conference record in 2017.

Center Trayvon Reed scored 12 points in that game. On Tuesday he was one of four Tigers to score in double figures (15 points), recording a double-double along the way.

“This is a great win for our program against a quality team like Baylor," Jones told the AP. "It's about growth and we're hopeful that we'll grow from tonight.”

With fewer games against ranked and Power Five opponents on tap this season, Tuesday night's win is already an improvement over last season when the team earned its first NCAA Tournament victory despite finishing below .500.

They remain on the road for their next five games starting with No. 3 Gonzaga on Saturday.

But unlike last year, they'll play a pair of non-conference foes at home starting with Huston-Tillotson on Nov. 29.